(Slide 1) I begin with a question, ‘What are you having for Easter dinner?’ (Congregation responds)
(Slide 2) Who are you eating dinner with? (Congregation responds)
I wonder what our two Lenten guides might be having for Easter dinner… let’s find out!
(Slide 3) (Dramatic reading from ‘Living Lent; the animals tell the story, the fish reveals a risen savior’ by Creative Communications for the Parish © 2008)
Anybody having fish today for dinner?
Today is a family day for many people and that means lots and lots… and lots and lots of food, maybe not as much as Thanksgiving or Christmas, but if we leave the table hungry, that’s our fault. (A lot of people we know perhaps are eating in a warmer climate that we are today!)
I think that all of us have had the experience of eating during a difficult time such as a family member’s serious illness, a death, or other stressful times. We are grieving, we are anxious, we are tired, we are stressed out and the last thing that we want to do is eat.
In our main text for this morning, we read about a meal that the disciples were having that was a difficult one to eat… until Jesus showed up! Here is Luke 24:36-38:
‘And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” But the whole group was terribly frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why do you doubt who I am? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do!” As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his feet.
Still they stood there doubting, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched.’
The ‘they’ in verse 36 refers to the two who had encountered Jesus as they walked from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, a 7 mile trip one way. After their incredible encounter in which Jesus revealed Himself to them at the end of their journey, they had come back (and maybe ran until they were out of breath) to Jerusalem to tell about it and as they began to share it, Jesus appears before all of them!
I think that the care and compassion of Christ is evident in this passage as He helped the stunned group deal with their shock and fear at His appearance. He did not mock them or make fun of them, He knew how they felt and so He sought to reassure them that it was truly Him and He was truly alive!
I also think that Christ’s compassion and care was expressed in how He chose to give solid proof that He was truly alive and not a ghost. He asked for something to eat.
Still they stood there doubting, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched.’
There is something about eating together that causes walls to come down and doubts to clear. I learned that many years ago when I asked Susan and a group of young adults at the church to which I had just been appointed as youth pastor if they like to go out for pizza. She later told me that it made me a little more real and a lot less snobbish!
We have had a good breakfast this morning and we will, I trust and pray, have a good Easter dinner. But there is food that is more important than the food we eat (and overeat at times) it is the food that we feed our souls with.
In Mark chapter 7 Jesus makes clear that there is another kind of food necessary to our existence and He addresses it from the perspective of the kind of nourishment, or in this case, non-nourishment, it provides. We begin with verse 14:
‘Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do!” Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had made. “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that what you eat won’t defile you? Food doesn’t come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again.” (By saying this, he showed that every kind of food is acceptable.)
And then he added, “It is the thought-life that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God.”
With Jesus’ words echoing in our minds and hearts, I ask us this morning, (Slide 4) ‘What’ are you feeding your soul?’ Is it good for your soul?
The Bible uses the images of mind and eyes in speaking about matters of spirit and soul. They are the entry points through which ‘soul food,’ if you will, passes into your heart and soul. Several passages in both the Old and New Testaments reveal the important role that our eyes and minds play with regard to our hearts and souls.
In Proverbs 6:16-19 we read, ‘There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things he detests:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord among brothers.’
In Romans 8:5 -8 we read: ‘Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.’
In Romans 12:2 we read, ‘Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.’
Then in Matthew 6:22 and 23 we read, ‘Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!’
All of these verses talk about our soul and the condition of our soul because what we feed our soul through our eyes and our mind is revealed in and through our character and conduct that comes out of our heart and soul.
Have a conflict in a relationship? What have you been looking at or for and thinking about in regards to said conflict? Do a soul check about attitudes and expectations.
Financial issues? What have you been looking at or for and thinking about money? Do a soul check about priorities and habits.
‘Now, Jim what does all of this have to do with Easter?’ I’m glad you asked! It has everything to do with Easter! The death and resurrection of Jesus is about (to use a very current phrase) the need for an ‘Extreme Makeover’ of our souls. It is about a major renovation in which our minds and our eyes and thus our heart and soul are redone by the power and work of God in our lives.
Easter, in response to the video clip we have just seen, is not about bunnies or whatever you believe it is, it is about a deep and significant change that only God can make happen in us.
What have you been feeding your soul? Is it good for it? Is it God centered and God honoring? Is it Biblical?
As we move toward our conclusion this morning there are two things that I want to have you take with you today to think about and use this next week.
First, I want us to take a step back and look at the current human situation in light of Easter and what it truly means because we need to more clearly understand and believe that the Resurrection is not just about Jesus and me but Jesus and us.
Today we are in two nations fighting a potent enemy. During this past week one of our Presidential contenders has again addressed the race issue because of comments made by a pastor.
Today we are concerned about the ‘carbon footprints’ we are making as it relates to our environment and how we can reduce use of fossil fuel so that our environment can become healthier. Then there are the economic indicators and the mortgage crisis that indicate financial turbulence.
It gets overwhelming doesn’t it? (I feel sometimes like it is 1968 because of current events.)
What does Easter have to do with all of this? EVERYTHING!
Race issues are spiritual because all of us are created in God’s image and what we choose to take in with our eyes and think with our minds about people directly affects our souls and hence our actions. Environmental issues are spiritual because God has given us the responsibility to care for this planet; what we take in with our eyes and think with our minds about how we treat our earth affects our souls and hence our actions. Economic issues are spiritual because treating others fairly regarding money issues is in the Bible and so what we take in with our eyes and think with our minds regarding our spending habits affects our souls and hence our actions.
What the resurrection makes possible is a renovation of our minds and eyes and hence our heart and soul; because as we allow the power of the resurrection to operate in us and truly change us for the better, we begin to see things and think about things from God’s perspective because as we are ‘born again’ through the spirit of God enacting the salvation that we celebrate today through Christ’s death and resurrection, our relationship with God is restored, and then, in light of the Great Commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves, our relationships with others can begin to change for the better. For only when our souls are transformed, not merely fixed, not merely cleaned up, but changed; deeply and profoundly changed, can we get back on the right path. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Second, take an inventory of what you are filling your eyes and your mind with these days. .. Is what you are looking at and what you are thinking about feeding your heart and soul in the Christian way?
Do you seek an inner peace? Do you seek a resolution to a conflict that has caused you grief and pain? Are you tired of the emptiness of life?
I invite you to come home today. Come home to Christ. Come home to the forgiveness of your sins and the establishment of a new way of life and a freedom from the past with its pain and alienation.
Let the Lord feed your soul by helping you, as Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8, ‘Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.’
The power of Easter is not just a one shot deal… it is an everyday deal as we allow the Lord to open our eyes and minds and thus our hearts and souls to the love and grace of God through Christ.
Eat well today! Eat well everyday! Feed your soul and become the person that God has created you to be… because He is Risen! Amen!
Power Points for this sermon are available by e-mailing me at pastorjim46755@yahoo.com and asking for ‘032308slideseaster’ Please note that all slides for a particular presentation may not be available.
